§ Andrew BennettTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list the total fines imposed in each of the last three years for each magistrates court area in Greater Manchester; what percentage of fines was collected in each area in each year; what percentage of fines was written off in each year in each area; and what progress is being made in improving the enforcement ratio. [70723]
§ Yvette CooperMagistrates courts committees have a responsibility for the collection of a range of debts imposed by the courts. including not only fines but also fees, compensation, confiscation orders, legal aid contributions and some maintenance orders. It is not possible to separate out just fines from the total.
The figures for the magistrates courts areas within Greater Manchester are contained in the table.
The Government are committed to improving the enforcement of financial penalties. Variations in performance across the country are too wide. We transferred lead responsibility for warrant execution from the police to magistrates courts committees (MCCs) on 1 April 2001, giving MCCs control over the whole enforcement process.
1301WWe have established an information sharing scheme, which enables magistrates courts to obtain basic information on defaulters from the Department for Work and Pensions. We have set performance targets for
Greater Manchester magistrates courts committee Imposed (£) Percentage paid Percentage amount written off April 1999-March 2000 Trafford 4,728,186 24 9 Tameside 1,861,182 57 13 Stockport 2,227,346 49 1— Oldham 1,106,743 101 57 North and West Manchester (includes Rochdale, Wigan, Leigh and Bury) 10,727,563 60 23 Manchester 6,035,529 49 36 April 2000-March 2001 Trafford 3,951,052 33 35 Tameside 1,776,096 54 22 Stockport 1,558,011 89 35 Oldham 1,063,770 114 50 North and West Manchester (includes Rochdale, Wigan, Leigh and Bury) 9,921,380 63 30 Manchester 6,700,253 52 35 April 2001-March 2002 Trafford 4,302,658 28 6 Tameside 1,334,217 71 30 Stockport 1,381,183 92 30 Oldham 1,028,870 106 46 Salford 931,028 123 52 Bolton 1,448,566 97 18 Wigan (includes Bury, Leigh and Rochdale) 6,329,356 54 21 Manchester 6,278,014 52 40 1 Date not available Following the amalgamation in April 2001 there was a change of areas making up Greater Manchester magistrates court committee.
Please note that information regarding debt is calculated over a rolling year and that the percentages paid and written off in each area could also include amounts that were imposed in previous years. This is why the amount recorded as paid in any one year can exceed the amount imposed.